My Flesh and Blood
by Lt. Basil
Summary: An attack on Traverse Town by Organization XIII drives Mac and his friend Kya out of their home. Meanwhile, back at the Garden, the Guardians of Light are having problems of their own; Riku has vanished, leaving Sora, Kairi and Lea to pick up the pieces. What will happen when the two groups collide? Sibling OCs, rating may change. SoKai, maybe mentioned Namixas or Rion.
1. Prologue

**A/N: Hello again! I've finally started on my first OC story! Most of these OCs are ones that were previously introduced in my previous story, **_**100 Feelings of an Undefined Heart, **_**with a few exceptions. First, Riku's brother Korruk and Ienzo's sister Mai will be making appearances in this along with Mac, Rhys, and Kya. I also may end up making other OCs along the way, so stay tuned.**

**Disclaimer; Kingdom Hearts is the property of Disney, Square Enix, and Buena Vista games. I claim no ownership to the concepts or settings of this story, and the only characters that I claim are Mac, Rhys, and the other OCs that I dreamed up. Thank you.**

Prologue

_Traverse Town_

The darkness filled every pore of Mac's tiny body, scaring him down to his very core. He shivered, his miniscule, little boy arms spiking with goosebumps. An oppressive force was filling the air around him, emptying his lungs, suffocating him, _terrifying _him. No light penetrated the blackness around him, and no sound interrupted it, which made him feel as if he were the only living thing in the universe. Even when straining his eyes as hard as he could, he could see absolutely nothing, and the silence did nothing to help ease his tension.

"Where am I?" the seven-year-old wondered aloud, looking around nervously. "Mommy? Daddy? Big brothers? Where are you?" His voice echoed hollowly through the empty air around him. Cupping his hands around his mouth, he hollered, "Moooooommy! Daaaaaaddy! Big brooooothers!"

Behind him, a glowing figure rose up from the gloom; a creature made of fire, with a humanoid shape and shining green eyes. Mac turned, hazel eyes growing huge. Backing away, the child choked out, "Big brother? Is that you?" Instead of answering, the monster reached out for him, its fingers curling around his throat. Gagging, the boy clawed at those fingers, trying to pry them loose and so free himself. "Owie! B-brother… s-stop it… you're h-hurting me!" The monster merely tightened its grip. Dots danced before Mac's eyes as his oxygen supply was cut off. Through the pain and suffocation, he thought that he could hear someone calling his name…

"…can't die…gotta…up…Mac!" With a jolt, the little boy jerked back to consciousness. Looking up, he saw a pair of bright green eyes staring down at him, the concerned face rimmed with light brown hair. Mac managed a weak smile.

"…Rhys…" With a sigh of relief, the older boy gathered his little brother up in his arms, tears of joy flowing down his face in rivers.

"You're alive…" He laughed out loud. "You're still alive, Mac!"

Casting his large, hazel eyes around the area, Mac spotted his parents standing a short ways off. His mother's shoulders were shaking and her head hanging; her husband had put an arm around her in an attempt to console her. Grinning brightly, Mac waved at them. "Mommy! Daddy!"

They turned around fast enough to give them whiplash, staring at him with an expression that was dangerously close to disbelief. Forgetting themselves, they ran to him and dropped to their knees beside him, embracing him and his brother tightly. Voices affected with tears, they whispered their youngest son's name. "Mac…"

Looking at them with big eyes, the little redhead asked, "Where's Lea?" They all froze, even Rhys. Unfazed, the child continued, "Where's big brother? Will he be here soon?" He glanced around expectantly, hoping to spot their missing family member behind them, or something. Beside him, his mother started crying, and soon, his father and brother joined in. Pouting, he demanded, "Why are you crying? Where's Le-Le?"

Pulling himself together, Mac's father gazed at him forlornly. "Mac… Lea's not here."

"When's he coming back?" Mac asked.

"Mac…" Rhys sighed heavily. "Lea isn't coming back." Tears began to fill his eyes again, so he turned quickly, wiping them away before his brother could see them.

"Why not?"

At the sight of the child's confused, frustrated expression, his family members all held him tighter and cried even harder. Those next spoken words would remain burned into Mac's consciousness for the rest of his life.

"Lea's dead, Mac."

_The Castle That Never Was_

Axel raised his head to look out the window at the Dark City. He didn't like this new world. It was too cold and dark, not to mention _wet. _Gazing at the pitch-black sky, he wondered if it was always this way here – cloudy, starless, rainy… did this world even _have _a sun?

He sighed and pressed his hand against his chest, trying once more to sense a heartbeat beneath his ribs and lungs. He still didn't want to believe that he had no heart, despite all of the evidence pointing in that direction – the lack of a pulse, the altered physical appearance, the emotional numbness… he _had _to have a heart! It was a necessary organ; he couldn't live without it! Again, though, he was met with… no, not exactly disappointment – he still felt nothing, but… his search brought no results. What a disconcerting… sensation… not being able to feel your own pulse. The chances of him getting used to it were practically zero.

_Maybe it's better this way, _he thought tiredly. _If it's true that I really DON'T have a heart, at least that means that I won't go crazy from the trauma I've gone through over the past few days. Still…_

It wasn't right for him not to feel upset about the loss of his family. It wasn't right at all.

"Lea… err, Axel." The boy turned at the voice. Saix was hovering in the doorway, looking someone uncomfortable as he addressed him. "Meeting in the Round Room."

"Thanks, Isa. Saix," he quickly corrected himself. His friend managed a strained smile. As the two of them made their way to the meeting room, Axel muttered under his breath, "Well, let's get this over with."

**What do you think? Please tell me! Review, my friends. *waves fingers hypnotically* You **_**will **_**review my stories.**

**Yes, I know that the Jedi mind trick doesn't work on you guys. Please review anyway! **


	2. Partings and Meetings

**A/N: Hi people! I finally figured out what I'm going to do with the second chapter! And heeeeeere it is! **

**Sadly, school starts tomorrow. *sobs* It's so horrible! Anyway, updates are gonna be pretty hectic and scattered, since I'm starting some advanced classes this year, so for those of you who are actually interested in my works, you have been warned. Thanks.**

Partings and Meetings

_Traverse Town_

"I'm just sayin', have you _seen _how many Heartless have been popping up recently?" The girl swung herself upright on the gymnastics' set she'd been exercising on. It was the only thing there was in the room they were in, the only piece of furniture in that gigantic room except for the mats on the floor and a single, wooden chair. In that chair sat a boy, red-haired, hazel-eyed and several years the girl's senior. He had been absorbed in sharpening a pair of sais in his hands, but on hearing her voice, he glanced up from them to raise his eyebrows at her. Putting down his work, he crossed his arms and stared at her skeptically.

"Kya, there are _always _tons of Heartless out here. You sure you're not just seeing so many because you're always sticking your nose where you shouldn't?"

"Shut up, Mac," she growled irritably, dropping down and putting her hands on her hips. Cerulean eyes challengingly met his hazel, burning into them with ferocious intensity. "Don't treat me like a dumb kid. I know what I've been seeing, so _can it!_"

Snorting, Mac returned to sharpening his weapons, unfazed by his friend's outburst. Her glare intensified, practically boring into the side of his head in her anger. To his credit, Mac managed to keep his composure for a good three minutes – a feat that few people in Traverse Town could achieve. But this was Kya. It was impossible to stay cool under her glare for very long. Finally sighing in defeat, the redhead looked up and said in a tired voice, "When _you _turn eighteen, everyone younger than you seems like a kid. Partly because they are," he added as an afterthought. Fuming at his response, the girl lost it.

"Zip it, moron!" Her eyes had grown ice cold, her voice harsh and biting. Mac, accustomed to such outbursts, merely rolled his eyes. "What do you know?!" Her dark brown hair was sticking out in a dozen different directions, as if her anger had sent a jolt of electricity coursing through her body. Maybe that would have been possible were she a lightning wielder, but her element was illusions... maybe she had created an illusion to make herself look more intimidating? If that were the case, she was failing miserably – Mac thought she looked hilarious.

It wasn't often that you found an eighteen-year-old boy with a fourteen-year-old girl as a best friend, but then again, in Traverse Town, you took what friends you could get. In a community of refugees, there wasn't much else you could do. Little was questioned – after all, if the multiverse had a capital for weirdness, it was there. Being an "in-between" world, designed specifically for people with nowhere else to go, there was quite the eclectic group of citizens. People from all over came to that place: men and women of every size, race and age, some warriors, some doctors, farmers, salesmen, crooks, bums, travelers, you name it. Even nonhuman creatures gathered there; Mac and Kya had both seen more than their share of anthropomorphic and sentient animals over the years. And then, of course, there were the Heartless.

Those monsters were like a plague, spreading from world to world as easily as a grasshopper jumped from plant to plant. And lately, that "plague" had been getting worse – worlds were beginning to get completely engulfed by them. Radiant Garden, the kids' former home, had been the first of many. Not long after that, another world, one whose name had long ago been lost, was swallowed as well.

Kya didn't remember much of her past life in the Garden; she'd been three years old when she'd had to leave, so her memories were a little hazy. Mac had been seven. He remembered all too well – the fear, the screams, the death and the suffocating smoke... as his brother Lea would have put it, he "had it memorized". And he'd never forget any of it.

That day, Mac didn't just lose his home. He lost a piece of himself, a very vital piece, one that he'd never realized he'd had until it was gone. His eldest brother, though so much older than him, had held a very important place in his heart. Whereas Rhys, the younger of his two elder brothers, tended to ignore him and treated him like a nuisance, Lea listened to him and was there for him as much as he could be. And then, just like that, he was gone.

In a way, so was Mac.

"Hey, Mac!" Kya snapped her fingers in front of his face, jerking from his thoughts about his brother. Turning to look at her he cocked his head in slight irritation. Smirking, she stated, "Just making sure you were awake in there." The redhead rolled his eyes and was about to make some smart remark, but he was cut off by a bloodcurdling scream outside. Then another. Then another.

Soon the street outside the house was a deafening din of terrified shrieks. Heads jerking at each sound, the two teens raced to the windows, staring out at the carnage. Mac's stomach flipped.

"What are they?" Kya whispered, staring at the strange creatures with utter revulsion. Her companion merely shrugged. They were too humanoid to be Heartless – not even Soldiers or Sergeants looked so close to an actual human being. Also, they were branded with a strange insignia, like a skinny, winged thing with long wings, a bulbous head and an arrow for a tail. The creatures themselves were a solid off-white color, with no other shade except for a grey in the metallic stripes running up each side. Their faces were pointed in a birdlike fashion, eyeless and noseless, cavernous mouths resembling zippered pouches, easy to open and close just by tugging on them. For some strange, unknown reason, Mac found the creatures more disturbing than any Heartless that he'd ever encountered.

"Whatever they are, they're attacking our neighbors," he stated, hanging his sais on his belt with a determined expression. Nodding, Kya grabbed her quarterstaff in her hand and turned to her friend, eyes serious for once. Holding up three fingers, Mac silently counted down. _Three... two... one!_

Slamming the door down, the two friends raced out, hacking away at the strange creatures. They struck at them, slithering along the ground, whacking them, hurting them in so many ways. One of the creatures hit the ground, but instead of either lying still or disappearing in a puff of smoke, it began to crawl towards Mac. He turned swiftly, alarm firing through this entire body, but before he could dodge or slash it, it rose up and hit him in the face... hard. Dots swam before his eyes as he was thrown back several feet from the sheer force of the attack. Taking advantage of his momentarily broken guard, the monster lashed out again; but this time, Mac managed to quickly recover, block the attack, dart behind it and shove both of his sais into its back. Dark tendrils leaked from the wound, slowly overtaking its whole body until it was nothing more than a cloud of black, rancid smoke.

A short ways away, Kya was having a little less difficulty. The creatures, she discovered, were weak against magic – an area in which she excelled. They didn't stand a chance. In the span of mere _seconds, _they were all frozen, electrocuted, on fire or hanging upside-down in the air. Only a few spells and a couple of strikes from her staff later, and all of the monsters were dead. She leaned back, satisfaction at her work showing in her expression.

"If you're quite done," Mac ground out, dodging another blow from behind, "I could use a little..."

Three immense pillars of light cut him off, bursting through the monster ranks and exploding in a blinding flash. Shielding his eyes, Mac shied away, cringing with pain. When he opened them, all of the creatures were gone. "What...?"

"You're welcome," Kya muttered, rolling her eyes and resting her staff casually across her shoulders. Her friend scowled.

"I need to see if my family's okay," he snapped, glaring at her. Swiftly, he turned and began to march off, but before he was completely out of earshot, he stopped. Throwing a look over his shoulder, he called, "You comin', or what?"

Wordlessly, she followed him.

XXX

There were many more of the strange monsters hanging around Mac's house when they got there, but the duo held back. Two hooded figures were standing in the center of the group, arms crossed as they surveyed their ranks. One slithered through the open doorway and raised itself to a standing position (if it could be called that) in front of them both.

"Well?" one of the men demanded. "Were they inside?"

The creature bowed its head and spoke in a grating, breathy whisper. _No. There were only two elders and a youth – we took care of them. The adults, anyway – the young one escaped. _Mac swallowed, dread building up in the pit of his stomach. _"They're gone? No! They can't be! Where's Rhys? He'll know what to do!" _

"Well, find them!" the man barked. "They can't have gotten far! We need them as lures for those so-called "Guardians of Light". We are still short on one, remember!"

"Aw, relax, Wolfman." The other man slapped his back in a friendly manner. Mac's eyes widened with horror; he'd know that voice anywhere. _Braig..._ "I doubt that the "Almighty Superior" will take our heads off for being a little slow. He still needs us for his "master plan", am I right? Couldn't make the X-blade without us."

"X-blade?" Kya whispered hoarsely. "What's that?"

"_Shh!_" Mac snapped.

"Be quiet, Xigbar," the man snarled. "We have a job to do."

Braig (Xigbar?) threw him a mocking salute, grinning impishly. "Yes sir." His voice was swathed with sarcasm. "Remember, I outrank you."

"Wolfman" made some sort of reply, but right before he did, a rough hand reached out and clamped a hand on Mac's mouth from behind. He struggled against the grip, grunting and thrashing, but his captor only held on tighter. Glancing sideways, Mac saw Kya in a similar position with someone else.

"Stop squirming," the first man hissed. Mac struggled, glowering. "Shut up before they hear!" Startled by the statement, he went still. He heard his captor's rough voice grate in his ear. "You'll never get past those guys on your own. Do as I say, and you just might make it out of here alive."

**How's that? I put a lot of effort into this chapter, so be nice. And as always, please review. **

**And for the record, the reason that Mac recognized Xigbar's voice but not Saix's is because Saix was so young when he lost his heart. And also, I don't remember what Xigbar's nickname for Saix is, and using "Moony", as several of my favorite authors do, felt like stealing if it wasn't from the game. So there.**


	3. Plague of Darkness

**A/N: Call me crazy, but the sick days that I've had this week have been an absolute blessing. Now I can actually work on updates! Hurrah! **

**I wrote this chapter a while back, but I just didn't have any time to type it up and post it. Now I do. Too bad I have to go back to school tomorrow :P**

Plague of Darkness

"What do you want us to do?" Kya had managed to pry her captor's hand off of her mouth and was now staring at the speaker expectantly. The man stared back at her, unflinching beneath her gaze, brown eyes taking her in. He was rough-looking, with long, shaggy brown hair and a scar crossing over his right eye. His hands were calloused, his skin fairly dark, and his clothes had a ragged warrior's look to them.

The other man was stockier than he was, with blonde, out-of-control spikes for hair and a pair of piercing blue eyes, ones that were hard and weathered by tough times. His uniform was completely black, the sleeves cut off of the zippered shirt, and the cuffs of his baggy pants tucked into worn leather boots. Though he sported no distinctive visible scars, there was a haunted expression in his cobalt eyes that suggested a painful and rough life. The hard muscles in his arms intensified the effect.

"Don't run off," the first man said gruffly. "We're going to let you go now, but if you run away from us, we can't guarantee your safety. Got it?" Mac nodded. Immediately, he was released from the vicelike grip.

After looking around cautiously, the blonde man pulled out two black coats, not unlike the ones that Xigbar and Moony were wearing. "Put these on. They'll help you blend in with the shadows and keep the Dusks from attacking you." Wordlessly, the two teens pulled them on and zipped them up, not neglecting pulling the hoods over their heads, Both men nodded.

"Stick close to us and each other," the brunette commanded, putting on his own coat. Beside him, his companion did the same. "You won't be able to fool the Vessels with these, so be careful." 

"Vessels?" Kya frowned. "Is that what those cloaked men are called?" Neither man replied, but the looks on their faces said it all.

"Come on." So they headed off, creeping away from the house and the "vessels", slipping instead into the shadows of the buildings. They clumped together like a pack of starving dogs in a garbage dump. The two men led the way, with the children tailing behind warily. No one said anything for fear of the "Dusks" hearing them and realizing that they weren't "vessels". Mac didn't really trust them, nor did Kya, but what else could they do? The men seemed to know the town like the back of their hands – obviously, they'd been there before, and though Mac and Kya knew it too, a little protection couldn't hurt.

Pressing up against the wall, the brunette man pressed in one of the bricks, revealing a hidden door among he stone. Glancing back at the others, he stated, "Through here. Come on." Silently, the group filed through the open door, the other man pulling it shut behind them and latched it.

Nothing was said as the group hurried through the tunnel, listening for the sound of approaching Dusks. But nothing unusual happened; a few Heartless popped up and were dealt with, but there were no Dusks or Vessels around. Everyone felt gloomy and depressed, shoulders slumped, heads bowed, confidence damaged. Only the sound of dripping water and footsteps broke the stifling silence. Finally, Mac broke the silence.

"What do those guys want from us?"

Now even breaking stride, the first man replied, "They're probably just trying to find more soldiers for their army. Traverse Town is supposed to be a haven; but if Xehanort gets control of it, the place'll become a spawning ground for Heartless and Nobodies alike."

"I'm sorry, but... "Nobodies"? What do you mean by that?"

"Enough questions, kid," the second man snapped. "Just keep moving." Mac scowled.

"I'm eighteen! I'm not a kid!:

"I'm twenty-five."

"And here we are!" The first man pushed open a door at the end of the tunnel, allowing light to stream in through the gap. Squinting, Mac instinctively lifted his had to shield his eyes from the blinding light. Pain caused tears to ooze out of his eyes, blurring his vision uselessly. Blinking the water away, Mac glanced around, taking everything in.

They were standing with their backs to the town wall, a field of fresh, sweet-scented emerald grass rippling at their feet. The clean, green-smelling air stirred the coats around their ankles, gently coaxing the hoods off of their heads. A round, full moon hung on the horizon, casting a pale light across everything and washing the world in a silver tint. Far to the right, an ornately carved, massive oaken door was placed along the stone wall. The town gate.

"It's so beautiful out here..." Kya breathed, gazing around the field in awe. The wind gently played with her hair, causing it to dance around her face in a graceful performance. Her eyes glowed as she inhaled the fresh air, reveling in the absence of the foul scents of smoke, oil and sewage, ever-present reeks in the town itself which were a relief to be free of. The grass felt like a soft carpet beneath her feet, and Mac knew that she was fighting the urge to peel off her shoes and run across it barefoot. He had that urge, too.

Pointing to the left, the brunette man gestured to a small creek running through the plain, which entered the city via a small culvert at the base of the wall. "Our ship is along that stream. We can take you there, fly you out, and take you as far as Disney Town, but after that, you're on your own. Sorry."

Mac sighed. "Look, I - ."

"It's fine," Kya interrupted, throwing him a warning look. "You've done so much for us already." She smiled the two warmly. "Thank you."

It was the blonde man who dipped his head and gave the necessary "You're welcome." Then, silently, the four moved off towards the stream.

"If it's okay to ask... what you two's names?" Mac asked hesitantly. Both turned around to look at the kids.

"I'm Leon," the brunette said. Then he jerked his thumb at his companion. "He's Cloud."

"Now, come _on,_" Cloud growled. "Let's get going." Nothing else was said.

**Bet you weren't expecting **_**that, **_**were you? ...Yes? ... oh... awkward turtle...**

**Next chapter will have the keyblade bearers, I promise! And I might introduce Korruk and Mai soon, too. **


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